A rigid, hinged-lid packet of cigarettes normally comprises an inner wrapping enclosing a group of cigarettes; and a rigid outer package housing the inner wrapping.
To preserve the organoleptic characteristics of the cigarette tobacco, a sealed inner wrapping, formed by folding and heat sealing a sheet of airtight packing material, is often used. The airtight material is fed to a packing machine in the form of a continuous strip wound into a reel, which is unwound gradually to cut the continuous strip crosswise into individual sheets of packing material. The airtight material is normally multilayer, i.e. comprises a number of joined, superimposed layers, which, to form a continuous strip of multilayer airtight material, must be unwound off respective reels to superimpose and join the layers to one another, and the continuous strip of multilayer airtight material then rewound into a reel for supply to the packing machine. If the layers in the airtight material, however, are not perfectly even (e.g. if one of the layers only covers a limited part of the material), the reel into which the continuous strip of multilayer airtight material is wound proves uneven (i.e. presents “eccentric bumps”, as opposed to being perfectly round). This unevenness subjects the material to localized stress possibly resulting in undesired permanent (i.e. irreversible) formations, and may pose both winding and unwinding problems (due to pulsating variations in the tension of the strip).
EP1939107A1 describes a package, for confectionary or other foodstuffs, comprising a sealed wrapping with a reclosable withdrawal opening. The sealed wrapping has a withdrawal opening closed by a reclosable sealing panel, and is made from a sheet of multilayer packing material comprising at least an outer layer, and an inner layer superimposed with the outer layer and having a U-shaped first incision which defines the withdrawal opening. The outer layer is larger than the sealing panel, and has a U-shaped second incision located outwards of the first incision, surrounding the first incision on three sides, and defining the edges of the sealing panel.